Ed Gerlach began playing piano at the age of 5 before switching his focus to soprano saxophone and later tenor saxophone. Gerlach discusses his career as a saxophonist, including his time with the Glenn Miller Orchestra. Gerlach also share his...

Augustin Villagomez came to Houston in the 1920s. His first job was in the V.A. Hospital, working as an Order for cleaning rooms for 38 cents per hour. After saving some money, he went to Morelia to marry his girlfriend, Anavelia Rivera. They had 3...

Arnett Cobb, a saxophonist and band leader started playing music professionally in the 1930s. After playing with several groups including Lionel Hampton's, he formed his own band in 1947. In this interview Arnett answers questions about the...

E. A. (Everett Augustus) Lyons was first elected as Harris County commissioner in 1942, when road conditions were a major issue in the county because 85% of the roads were unpaved. Throughout the war, the county could not get parts and materials...

By answering an ad in the Houston Press, Rosalie Clements became an employee of the Shamrock Hotel, which opened on Saint Patrick’s Day, 1949. She began working as an assistant to the hotel’s developer, Glenn McCarthy, and later ran a successful...

Green, Ronald--Interviews; African American politicians ; African American laywers ; University of Houston ; Texas Southern University ; African American students--Texas--Houston--20th century ; City council members ; Oral histories

Houston's first African American City Controller discusses growing up in Third Ward, attending University of Houston and Texas Southern University, founding his own law firm and serving the city of Houston as a Councilman and City Controller.

Born in San Antonio, Texas, Raul Castillo worked for the City of Houston in the Affirmative Division. His interest in the mass transit problems in Houston started in 1970, when he tried to delve into the problems of the metropolitan bus system....

In this oral history, Johnny Goyan describes how he got interested in politics and his election to the Houston City Council. Goyan served under three Houston mayors -- Lewis Cutrer, Louie Welch and Fred Hofheinz -- and shares his perspectives on...

Reverend Earl Banning recounts his experiences as a man of God with certifications and interests in mental health and social welfare: from his beginnings in San Francisco to his eventual place as Pastor of Braeswood Assembly of God in Houston....

Frieda Wiener was born in Kiev in 1890 and immigrated to Detroit, Michigan around 1911. She came to Houston in 1915 and settled with her family in Galveston in 1921. She speaks about the difficulties of making a living in Galveston’s small Jewish...

Mr. Bobby Caldwell discusses his work as a lawyer in several civil rights cases, his work relationship with the Black Panther Party and the People's Party, and several life defining moments such as winning his first case, his first trial, and the...